Abstract:

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will provide a visual analytics platform that helps visualize how information spreads on the Web through networks of news outlets and social media users. The supported research will extend the interactive visual analytic platform by incorporating better influence modeling, sophisticated propagation cascade models that consider the semantics of the entities and their changing dynamics through time, and new visual paradigms for clustered and grouped data. The interface will allow the end user to manipulate visual representations of how a single press release, news clip, Tweet, or marketing push triggers activity among journalists, micro-bloggers, etc. Public sector policy makers, communications professionals and researchers can use this platform to uncover paradigms in data dissemination, find new ways to influence information dissemination, better inform their leadership, and root out sources of erroneous information online. The Phase II research focuses on dynamic influence monitoring, development of robust propagation cascading models for different social media sites, and the use of visual analytics to understand multi-granularity information propagators. The three areas of research for Phase II are all complementary methods that attempt to characterize, measure, and understand the ubiquitous process of information spread and the influence of individuals in this process as well as allow the user to interact with the underlying data to enhance public outreach. This grant will continue development of an interactive platform within which users can see and uncover patterns describing how messages are distributed across networks. The tool will locate key influencers, allowing communicators to see exactly how a message was distributed and ways to expedite message delivery during emergencies. Equally important is the ability of the tool to quickly uncover the source(s) and major purveyors of harmful misinformation on the Web. Data and filters further allow users to assess the size and demographic makeup of the audiences being reached enhancing governments interface with the public providing objective measures of the organization's effectiveness in penetrating traditional, new, and social media outlets. This insight will be used to better inform the organization and enhance public awareness of local, state and federal initiatives. Paired with the broader media analysis platform constructed earlier, the supported research will provide a comprehensive means of monitoring and measuring federal, state, and local municipality organizational performance.